Return of Escaflowne
by Leina
Summary: This is romantic action fiction that was written by a friend of mine. Sadly, I don't know where the rest of the fic is located, but what is written thus far is wonderful. [Discontinued]


**Hi everyone!! This is Leina here and I didn't write this ficcie. My friend's friend, Vixen wrote it and my other friend, Augh69 emailed it to me so I could post it up. Anyway, r/r thanx!! ^^**
    
    ** **
    
    **Return of Escaflowne**
    
     
    
    **Disclaimer: neither me or the writer owns Escaflowne and yadda yadda yadda.**
    
     
    
    Hitomi stared out a castle window. A dark, swift figure was running gracefully
    
    through the courtyard. Hitomi smiled and watched her daughter engage in a game
    
    of tag with the ever-playful Merle. Vera was now fifteen. She was tall and
    
    beautiful, so beautiful that she had caught the heart of many a prince from
    
    other countries. Vera had black hair like her father's that she grew long and
    
    kept in a loose ponytail, and eyes shaped exactly like her father's. At first
    
    glance, no one could tell if any of Vera's mother's features had ever developed
    
    in Vera. But everyone who really knew Vera knew that she had her mother's green
    
    eyes and mysterious powers. Hitomi smiled sadly. The combined spirits of Vera's
    
    mother and father had made her into a reckless, smart, strong tomboy. She had
    
    shrugged off all her suitors and set her eyes on achieving queenhood without
    
    marrying anyone. To do this, Vera had taken up swordsmanship, taught by Van, and
    
    learned how to pilot a guymelif. Vera had asked her mother, Hitomi, to teach her
    
    how to use tarot cards. Hitomi sighed. She knew that Vera was asking for
    
    trouble. Hitomi felt Van, her husband and Vera's father, walk up behind her.
    
    " Don't worry about Vera. She'll be fine." Van said, putting his arms around
    
    Hitomi.
    
    " I know. But I still worry. She doesn't really think that slaying a dragon will
    
    get her anything, does she?" Hitomi asked.
    
    " No, she knows that all it will do is rid Fanelia of one more dragon. I think
    
    she only wants to do it to prove that she can." Van said. He had disobeyed all
    
    the rules and taught Vera to be a swordswoman. To his great surprise, Vera had
    
    shown great skill from a very early age. Hitomi turned back to the window and
    
    watched Merle ambush Vera from a tree. The two of them fell to the ground in
    
    laughter.
    
    " All we can do, then, is help her." Hitomi sighed. The two parents jumped as
    
    two wings suddenly ripped out of Vera's shoulders. Vera, looking extremely
    
    embarrassed, apologized to Merle and hid her wings in her shoulders.
    
    " She's not very good at controlling them." Van said sadly. Hitomi nodded. The
    
    two parents had done all they could to protect their child. But Vera was now old
    
    enough to defend herself and make her own decisions. All Hitomi and Van could do
    
    was guide her.
    
    Vera stood on the castle wall with Merle. It was one of her favorite places in
    
    the entire castle. Merle often came up here with her.
    
    " I don't get it, Merle. How come they all think I can't do it?" Vera asked,
    
    gesturing to the people in the market place. Merle licked her paw and looked up
    
    at her friend.
    
    " They just cling to the old ways, that's all." Merle said. Vera looked at her
    
    only friend and lifelong playmate. She had always been told that Merle
    
    considered it her duty to Vera's mother and father to watch over Vera. Merle had
    
    been there at Vera's birth, and had never left Vera's side since. Merle even
    
    slept in the same room as Vera.
    
    " Well, I'll show them what a girl can do. I'll show them I can slay a dragon as
    
    well as my father and I can predict the future as well as my mother." Vera said
    
    confidently. Merle sighed.
    
    " Do you still feel that way?" Merle asked.
    
    " Yes. I can't help it Merle!" Vera had explained this to Merle many times. "
    
    All my life, I've felt like the whole kingdom has been holding me up in
    
    comparison to my parents. They've always said ' She's pretty, but do you think
    
    she can fight like the King?' or ' I wonder if she has her mother's powers?' I
    
    can't take it anymore, Merle! I've got to prove to everyone that I'm every bit
    
    as good as my parents." Vera looked at Merle.
    
    " If it makes you feel any better, I know you're every bit as good as they are.
    
    I don't need you to prove it to me, and neither does anyone else in this castle.
    
    So, why bother proving it?" Merle had tried to talk Vera out of this quest
    
    before, but Vera was too stubborn. Vera shook her head and Merle understood that
    
    tomorrow Vera would walk away from the castle and search out a dragon to slay.
    
    The next day…
    
    Vera stood before the cheering crowd that had gathered in the market place. She
    
    was dressed in light but strong armor in a similar style that had been worn in
    
    Vera's family for generations. She raised her right arm and the crowd cheered
    
    louder. With that done, Vera turned to her family. Her mother and father stood
    
    side by side, proudly watching their daughter. Allen and Millerna, who Vera
    
    referred to as her uncle and aunt, stood nearby. They had come all the way from
    
    Austuria to see Vera off. Merle was cheering louder than the whole crowd
    
    combined. These were the people that Vera considered her family. Vera grinned.
    
    " Don't worry, everyone. I'll be just fine." She said. Her mother came forward
    
    with Millerna.
    
    " If anything goes wrong, or you get hurt, you come right back home. No body
    
    will blame you." Millerna said. Vera set her face in determination.
    
    " Nothing will go wrong." Vera replied. Millerna hugged her. Vera had always
    
    loved her Aunt Millerna, so she hugged back. Merle dashed up.
    
    " Be careful, Lady Vera! I'll be waiting for you!" she cheered. Merle seemed to
    
    understand that she couldn't follow Vera this time. Vera had already said her
    
    goodbye to Merle so she just smiled again. Now, Vera's mother stepped up.
    
    " Vera, remember, if you see a pillar of light, steer clear of it. I don't want
    
    you to get lost on the Mystic Moon." Hitomi said. Even though Vera's mother had
    
    been born on the Mystic Moon, her greatest fear was that Vera might get trapped
    
    on the giant moon.
    
    " I'll be fine, Mom." Vera reassured her mother. Suddenly, Hitomi rushed forward
    
    and hugged her daughter. Vera buried her face in her mother's shoulder.
    
    " I love you, Vera. I'll pray for you." Hitomi whispered.
    
    " I love you too, Mamma," Vera replied. Hitomi stroked Vera's hair for minute,
    
    the way she used to when Vera was little. Then Vera stepped away and turned to
    
    Allen and her father.
    
    " Now, remember everything we taught you, Vera. And don't do anything rash. In
    
    other words, don't be your father's daughter." Allen warned. He smiled. Vera
    
    frowned playfully.
    
    " Why? I like acting like him." Vera stated. " Don't worry, Uncle Allen. I'll
    
    remember." Van stepped forward.
    
    " Vera, remember what I told you about dragons. They like to play with your
    
    mind, make you think you've won, and then they attack. Remember what happened to
    
    Folken." Van told her. Vera nodded. She remembered the gruesome story her father
    
    had told her about his brother, her real uncle. Folken had fallen for the
    
    dragon's trick, and he had lost his arm, and some said that he also lost his
    
    sanity. In the end, Folken had died.
    
    " Don't… Oh, why do I bother? I know you'll just worry anyway. I'll be okay,
    
    Dad." Vera said. Her father embraced her. Vera could understand why her mother
    
    had fallen in love with Van. She could remember the way he used to let her play
    
    with his wings when she was little.
    
    " Don't be reckless, Vera. It nearly killed me a thousand times." Van said.
    
    " I'll try. I love you, Daddy. If Prince Zensho comes to call, tell him I said
    
    drop dead." Vera said. Prince Zensho was one of Vera's suitors that was so dead
    
    set on marrying her that he still hadn't left her alone. He came to Fanelia once
    
    or twice a month to propose to Vera. He had come up with so many ways to propose
    
    to a girl, he could write a book about it. Vera's responses had varied, but the
    
    gist of it was always the same. A big fat no. Van smiled at his daughter.
    
    " Fine, but he won't like that. Now, you had better get going." He said. He
    
    grabbed Vera's shoulders and spun her around. She grinned at the crowd and ran
    
    toward the woods. Just before she reached them, she turned around and waved.
    
    Then she disappeared into the forest.
    
    A tall, blonde boy was walking down the street. He stared at the sky and wished
    
    he was at his old home, with his old friends. He knew that his mother and father
    
    were on a mission. They wanted to contact a friend of theirs that had
    
    disappeared about sixteen years ago, shortly before he was born. She had been
    
    called Hitomi. Suddenly, the boy saw a flash of light in the distance. Later, he
    
    would say that he was drawn to the light in a strange way. The boy began to run
    
    to the area where the light had flashed.
    
    Vera leaped to the left. The dragon roared and clashed its jaws. Vera was
    
    struggling to get at the dragon's throat, the way she had been taught. Just my
    
    dumb luck, Vera thought. Of course Vera would end up with a huge, old,
    
    experienced dragon that had more battle scars on it than the oldest man in
    
    Fanelia had years. Vera knew that to disable the dragon's ability to breathe
    
    fire, she had to slit its throat. She also knew that the most effective way to
    
    kill it was to stab its heart or the base of its skull. It wasn't a very humane
    
    way, but it was the best way. She had already injured the dragon's forearm. If
    
    Vera was lucky, she might have broken it, thus crippling the dragon. This would
    
    give Vera the advantage in speed and agility. All this flashed in Vera's mind as
    
    she studied the embattled beast. She gasped hard for air and watched closely for
    
    a weak spot. Then, in a flash, Vera had a vision, like her mother. She saw the
    
    dragon laying down, as if it was giving up. She saw herself slowly go in for the
    
    kill. She saw the dragon snap its head up and kill the image of herself. She saw
    
    her own blood drip down from the dragon's jaws. The vision ended. Vera stifled a
    
    scream. The dragon very suddenly lay down. The vision, Vera realized. The image
    
    of her own blood fresh in her mind, Vera kept her distance. Suddenly Vera saw
    
    it. A clear opening to the dragon's throat. Probably a trick, Vera reminded
    
    herself. No wait, there was another opening that was obviously a trick. Or maybe
    
    not. Vera pulled out the pendant her mother had given her for good luck. She
    
    concentrated and begged the pendant to work for her. It didn't always cooperate
    
    with her. Please, she begged, left opening or right opening. The pendant began
    
    to swing and Vera concentrated harder. Suddenly, the pendant swung to the right,
    
    hard. Vera tucked the pendant away, thankful she had inherited her mother's
    
    powers. Vera saw clearly now how she had to do this. She began to stalk to the
    
    left, and was pleased when the dragon's eyes followed her. Yes, as always, the
    
    pendant was right. The left opening was the trick one. Vera stalked closer and
    
    watched the monstrous beast's neck muscles begin to tense. A little closer, and
    
    Vera stopped. She watched the dragon grow more and more tense. Her plan was
    
    working like a charm. Suddenly, the dragon snapped its head to snatch her up,
    
    but its jaws grabbed only air. Vera sprinted with her mother's speed and her
    
    father's loping gait to the right. She dove under the dragon's neck. Vera's mind
    
    began to blank from fear. One trick that a friend of Merle's who everyone called
    
    Zam had taught her flashed through Vera's mind. Vera flipped onto her back and
    
    put her sword in her feet. Then, using all the power in her legs, Vera shoved
    
    the sword into the dragon's neck. The beast screamed with anger and pain. Vera
    
    leaped up and wrenched the sword out of the dragon's flesh. She grabbed onto a
    
    fold of loose, scaly skin and climbed to the top of the dragon's back. Maybe the
    
    beast had figured out what Vera was going to do, because it started to thrash
    
    madly. Vera clung to the dragon for dear life. She took aim and dug her sword
    
    into the back of the dragon's head. The monster roared. Vera threw her weight
    
    into her task, hammering on the hilt of the sword.
    
    " Come on!" Vera screamed. Suddenly, Vera felt the dragon shudder under her
    
    feet. The beast fell to the ground. To make sure, Vera knelt down and felt the
    
    dragon's flesh. She felt the heart begin to slow. Suddenly, a bright light
    
    surrounded Vera and the barely living beast. When Vera looked around her, she
    
    was in an entirely different set of woods. When she turned her attention back to
    
    the dragon, it was dead. Vera nodded silently. Good fight, you old monster, she
    
    thought. Vera leaped off the mountain of flesh and sank into a sitting position.
    
    She gasped hard and looked around her. A blonde boy was watching her. Vera
    
    studied the boy for a minute, and after deciding that he was probably not a
    
    danger to her, she walked over to the dragon's chest. Vera began the long,
    
    bloody process of digging out the Energist. When she turned around, Energist in
    
    hand, she noticed that the blonde boy was still there, staring at her. Vera was
    
    so happy, she couldn't be angry at the weird boy. She grinned.
    
    " What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen a girl slay a dragon? Of course you
    
    haven't, because it's never been done!" Vera was getting excited, and the boy
    
    looked at her like maybe she was nuts " Hah! They all said I couldn't do it, I'd
    
    just get killed! Wait'll they see this!" Vera held up the Energist to the boy.
    
    " Who are you? And what's that?" he asked, gesturing rather timidly toward the
    
    dragon.
    
    " A dragon, duh." Vera replied. Suddenly, Vera realized that this guy had a
    
    strange accent, like her mother's. Suspicion overtook her.
    
    " Hey, wait a minute. Where am I?" Vera remembered the light. She gasped. " Am I
    
    on the Mystic Moon? Oh, no! Mom will so mad at me!" Vera frowned at the Energist
    
    and then at the boy, who seemed to want very badly to stay away from the dead
    
    dragon. Vera sat down again.
    
    " It's dead." She called out to the boy. He stepped a little closer, but not
    
    much. Suddenly, another pillar of light shot out of the sky and grabbed Vera and
    
    the boy. Vera closed her eyes and cried out. She heard the boy screaming bloody
    
    murder near her. When Vera opened her eyes, she was back in the woods where she
    
    had found the dragon. The dragon itself was nowhere to be seen. Next to her lay
    
    the blonde boy, unconscious. Vera realized that she must have been knocked out
    
    as well.
    
    " Vera, is that you? Hey Vera!" a male voice called. Vera looked up to see Zam,
    
    Merle's almost boyfriend, running toward her.
    
    " Hi, Zam!" Vera called out. Zam was a cat-boy, and he looked a lot like Merle.
    
    He had black fur and straight black hair. His tail was tipped with white. Zam
    
    was a lot calmer than Merle, but just as playful. He was also a trader. Zam
    
    traveled to all parts of Gaea, so Vera was very lucky to have run across him.
    
    " Did you do it? Oh boy, say you did it! Please, say you did it!" Zam cried.
    
    Vera grinned and held out the Energist.
    
    " I did it." Vera said. " How far am I from the castle?" she asked.
    
    " Not far. I'll give you a ride in my cart. Uh, pick up a boyfriend?" Zam said,
    
    looking over Vera's shoulder. Vera followed his gaze to the blonde boy.
    
    " Oh, him. It's a long story. I'll explain in the cart." Vera said.
    
    " We aren't going to just leave him?" Zam asked.
    
    " Leave him? No way. Help me wake him up. On the other hand, stay back." Vera
    
    knelt down and shook the boys shoulder.
    
    " Hey, whatever your name is, you'd better wake up." Vera said loudly. The boy's
    
    eyes fluttered open.
    
    " Huh? What happened? You? Oh, man! Where's the monster? Where am I?" the boy
    
    sat up and then groaned and held his head.
    
    " Whoa, easy! I think you might have hit your head. Relax. Me and my friend here
    
    are going to take you to my place. I'll explain on the way." Vera said. When Zam
    
    came to help her, the boy's eyes got pretty big. Vera guessed that he had never
    
    seen a cat-person before. He was really going to freak when he met Merle. In the
    
    cart, Vera explained the whole thing to Zam, and then turned around and
    
    explained the whole matter and more in simpler terms so the boy could
    
    understand. The poor guy seemed pretty bewildered. After Vera was done he simply
    
    watched her as if he wasn't sure if he should believe her. Another glance at Zam
    
    seemed to convince him.
    
    " What's your name, anyway?" Vera asked.
    
    " Michael. What's yours?" the boy replied.
    
    " Vera. Vera Fanel. And that's Zam." Vera said, pointing. Zam turned his head so
    
    he could see them out of one eye.
    
    " Zam's the name, and trading is my game. We are approaching the market place."
    
    Zam said playfully. Vera looked up and saw the familiar wooden gates.
    
    " Hey!" she called out. " This is Vera Fanel! Open the gates!" The guards fell
    
    over themselves to get the gate open. After the gate had opened, the captain of
    
    the guard walked up to the cart.
    
    " Hello, Lady Vera. I hope your hunt went well." He said. Vera nodded and gave a
    
    characteristic wave of her hand. Zam hopped down from the driver's seat and led
    
    the cart through the gate.
    
    " Lady Vera?" Michael said incredulously. Vera didn't reply. Once inside the
    
    market place, Zam turned to Vera and Michael.
    
    " I've got to work. You guys go ahead and I'll meet you later. Tell Merle I'm
    
    coming. You know what she does when I come without giving her a warning." Zam
    
    said. Vera grinned. Merle usually decided to use Zam as a scratching post when
    
    he did that. Vera got out of the cart and waited on Michael, who looked a little
    
    awed by the scene. She grabbed his elbow and pulled him toward the castle.
    
    " Come on. I've got to see my mom and dad." Michael obliged and ran alongside
    
    her. Vera pulled him inside the castle walls.
    
    " Vera! Oh, Vera, I'm so glad to see you!" Millerna jogged toward them.
    
    " Hi, Millerna. Don't ask if I did it, because I'm not telling one more person
    
    until I see my parents!" Vera said. Millerna smiled.
    
    " I'll get them." Millerna said. She ran off and in a few minutes the castle was
    
    all hustle and bustle.
    
    " Lady Vera!" Merle cried, hugging Vera until Vera thought she'd suffocate. Just
    
    then, Vera's parents came. Van was leading with Hitomi right behind him. Both of
    
    them were running top speed.
    
    " Did you do it?" Van asked.
    
    " Come on, Vera, don't leave us hanging." Hitomi cried. Vera smiled, totally
    
    forgetting Michael
    
    " See for yourselves." She said, pulling the Energist out of her pocket.
    
    Everyone cheered, and Van declared a feast in honor of the occasion. Then Hitomi
    
    noticed Michael, who had been staring at her like he had seen a ghost.
    
    " Vera, who's this?" she asked. Vera came back to her mother and explained the
    
    whole story to everyone. When she was done, Michael spoke up.
    
    " Excuse me, but I have two questions. Vera, you're a princess?"
    
    " Uh, I guess I left that detail out." Vera said sheepishly.
    
    " Yeah, I guess you did. And, is your name, by any chance, Hitomi?" Michael
    
    asked Hitomi.
    
    " Yes, it is." Hitomi said cautiously.
    
    " I knew I recognized you! My parents showed me a picture of you! My parents are
    
    looking for you. They have been for about sixteen years." Michael said. Hitomi's
    
    face paled and Van stepped up beside her.
    
    " What are your parents' names?" Hitomi asked in a whisper.
    
    " Amano and Yukari." Michael responded.
    
    " Amano and Yukari. Oh, I wanted to go see them, but I never got the chance!
    
    Your parents were my best friends. I left to live here. Do they know where I
    
    went and why?" Hitomi asked. Michael shook his head.
    
    " I don't know. All they ever told me was that you left a note, but they never
    
    told me what was on it." He told her. Hitomi's face fell.
    
    " Oh. Well, I'll see them sometime soon. Perhaps when we take you home." She
    
    said. Michael nodded. Vera lead him through the castle, showed his room, her
    
    room, and everything else that he would need to know. Vera went to bed thinking
    
    about her accomplishments and wondering about Michael. Just before Vera fell
    
    asleep, she thought to herself, I forgot to warn Merle that Zam is coming.
    
    The next day…
    
    " Van, I think somebody should teach him how to handle a sword." Hitomi told
    
    Van. Van turned his head to look at her. They were talking about Michael.
    
    " Why?" he asked.
    
    " Look at him. He won't last an hour on his own. We can't possibly expect Vera
    
    to follow him everywhere to protect him." Hitomi said.
    
    " Good point. Allen and I will start to teach him." Van suggested.
    
    Michael sat on the branch of a tree in the courtyard. Michael liked to be alone,
    
    and he needed to think. Everything had happened so fast, he wasn't sure what was
    
    real and what wasn't. Michael watched the girl, Vera, play with that cat-girl
    
    with the pink hair. He had forgotten her name. Mainly, Michael watched Vera. He
    
    thought she was attractive. He leaned back and wondered what the future held for
    
    him.
    
    " Hey Michael! Come here! I want to show you something!" Vera called. She didn't
    
    seem to be very used to having people her own age around. Michael swung his legs
    
    over the branch and hopped down.
    
    " What?" he asked. Vera held up what looked like a deck of cards.
    
    " What are those?" Michael asked, curious.
    
    " They're tarot cards. My mom taught me how to use them. Do you want me to give
    
    you a reading?" Vera knelt down and Michael followed her example.
    
    " Sure." Michael said. He watched Vera draw cards and explain their meanings to
    
    him.
    
    " The overall reading is… That's odd." Vera frowned.
    
    " What is it?" Michael asked.
    
    " Well, your future holds a great challenge, a vow you must keep, awful danger,
    
    and ultimately, great success." Vera said dutifully.
    
    " Awful danger? A vow? What does that mean?" Michael asked.
    
    " I don't know. Maybe we should ask my mom. She's better at this than me." Vera
    
    suggested. Just then, Allen walked in. Michael had met Allen the night before.
    
    " There you are. Michael, how would you like to learn to use a sword?" Allen
    
    suggested.
    
    " A sword? Me?" Michael said. Boy, these people kept you on your toes.
    
    " Well, there's the challenge." Vera said. She gathered her cards and walked
    
    off. Michael watched her and turned to Allen.
    
    " I guess." Michael said. Allen tossed him a sheathed sword. Michael caught it
    
    and stared at it.
    
    " What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen a sword before?" Allen asked with a
    
    laugh.
    
    " Well, behind some glass in a museum." Michael responded. Allen rolled his
    
    eyes.
    
    " Oh yeah. You're from the Mystic Moon. Well, you look like you're smart and
    
    strong. Do you work out?" Allen asked.
    
    " I play on the basketball team. It's a sport." Michael explained before he was
    
    asked. Allen nodded and proceeded to teach Michael the basics.
    
    Four months later…
    
    Michael sat in his favorite tree. His sword hung from his waist, and Michael was
    
    considering sparring with it. Both of his instructors told him he had improved
    
    greatly, and he had a great deal of talent. Vera's reading from four months ago
    
    came to his mind. The challenge had presented itself, but Michael was baffled by
    
    the rest. He raised his head to the sky. The huge Mystic Moon hung there.
    
    Michael wondered what his parents were doing. They were probably hoping he was
    
    okay. Michael missed them in a strange way. He had never had a good strong
    
    relationship with his parents like Vera, so it was odd that he would miss them.
    
    They had moved to America when he was a baby, but when he turned fifteen they
    
    moved back to Japan. Michael had never forgiven them for it. He was still angry
    
    at them, but he wanted them to see him now. They had always worried that Michael
    
    didn't have enough self-esteem.
    
    " Hey, Michael! Why do you always climb a tree?" Vera called up. Michael turned
    
    his gaze to the ground and saw her standing with her hands on her hips.
    
    " Because I like it." He responded.
    
    " Whatever," Vera said with a shrug. " Come on down. Let's spar." Michael
    
    grinned and jumped down from his perch. Vera drew her sword and Michael followed
    
    suit. Michael had a trick up his sleeve that he wanted to try on Vera. Vera held
    
    her sword out straight to her right side, the way she always started a sword
    
    fight. Michael mimicked her movements. Vera charged and Michael met her halfway.
    
    Now Michael put the major part of his new game plan into effect. Every movement
    
    Vera made, no matter how slight, Michael copied. Vera realized what was going on
    
    and tried a couple of reckless charges. Michael simply followed suit and met her
    
    halfway. Vera was now thoroughly confused. Michael's plan was working perfectly.
    
    Michael patiently mimicked her, waiting for her to leave an opening unguarded.
    
    Finally, Michael's patience paid off. Michael made his first independent move
    
    and rushed at her. In a flash, Vera's sword was on the ground and so was Vera,
    
    with Michael's sword at her throat. The two teens gasped for a minute and then
    
    Michael sheathed his sword and helped Vera up.
    
    " Neat trick. Where'd you learn it?" Vera asked.
    
    " I thought it up myself." Michael replied. Vera brushed her dark hair out of
    
    her face. Her green eyes sparkled in the moonlight. A slight breeze picked up
    
    and Vera's dark blue shirt waved in the wind, revealing a small amount of tan
    
    skin. Vera raised her head to the moons.
    
    " Do you miss it?" she asked, nodding toward the larger of the two.
    
    " In a way. Really, I don't have anything to miss." Michael said. Vera pondered
    
    this for a moment.
    
    " What about your parents?" she asked. Michael shrugged.
    
    " I don't think we ever had a real relationship. Everything we had together they
    
    forced on me." Michael silently added, and they never understood. Vera and
    
    Michael stood watching the stars and the moons together, unaware of how true
    
    Vera's reading was going to turn out to be.
    
    The next day…
    
    Michael had decided to try and become a Fanelian Knight, but he was unsure of
    
    what duty he should take. An in-training knight's duty was something he solemnly
    
    vowed to do for a long period of time. Usually, in-trainings chose service to
    
    the King, but that didn't really suit Michael. At the moment, he was laying on
    
    Vera's personal guymelif, Double Edge, and Vera was pacing in front of it. Merle
    
    suddenly poked her head into the warehouse were the guymelifs were kept.
    
    " Uh, Lady Vera, announcing Prince Zensho." Merle said, using her hands to tell
    
    Vera to run for it.
    
    " Oh no! Uh, see you Michael!" Vera called. She made a dash for the back door.
    
    She almost made it, but a black haired, pale young man walked in.
    
    " Ah, Princess Vera. It's so nice to see you. I'm terribly sorry to keep you
    
    waiting for so long, but I was detained. Important matters. They'd bore you to
    
    death." The young man, obviously Prince Zensho, said. Michael rolled onto his
    
    stomach and watched Vera in amusement.
    
    " Hello, Zensho. Are you going to skip the small talk and cut to the chase, or
    
    are you going to talk my ears off?" Vera said gruffly. She crossed her arms and
    
    gave Zensho a look that said get moving buddy.
    
    " Since when are you so eager for me to ask?" Zensho asked.
    
    " Ask me and find out." Vera said enticingly.
    
    " Okay." Zensho said, obviously pleased. " Princess Vera, will you do me the
    
    honor of becoming my wife?" Michael twitched. He liked Vera and was surprised
    
    that someone would act so casual while proposing to such a girl.
    
    " My answer is… NO!" Vera screamed the last part with all her might. Michael
    
    tried not to laugh at Zensho's disappointed face. Zensho suddenly leaped at Vera
    
    and pushed her against a wall. He held her by the shoulders.
    
    " I said, marry me." Zensho growled. Vera looked surprised. Michael stiffened.
    
    " And I said no!" Vera cried. Zensho brought his face close to hers.
    
    " That wasn't a question, it was an order." He said threateningly. Michael
    
    hopped down from his position on Double edge and drew his sword quietly. He
    
    stalked up behind Zensho swiftly and put the blade against his neck.
    
    " Get your hands off the Princess." Michael growled at Zensho. Zensho had not
    
    been aware of Michael's presence and was shocked.
    
    " What if I don't?" Zensho asked.
    
    " Then I remove your head." Michael responded. Zensho let go of Vera and shook
    
    himself from Michael's grasp. As he stalked out of the warehouse, Michael called
    
    out to him.
    
    " Don't ever do that again. Next time, I won't turn the blade outward." Micael
    
    laughed at Zensho's enraged face. He turned to Vera, who was still leaning
    
    against the wall.
    
    " You okay?" he asked her. Vera looked at him as if he was an angel from heaven.
    
    Her eyes were wide and she was gasping for breath.
    
    " Thank you, Michael. Who knows what he might of done if you hadn't been here."
    
    She said. Tears suddenly streamed down her face and she rushed into Michael's
    
    arms.
    
    " Don't worry about it, Vera. He'll pay." Micahel said soothingly. He was in
    
    utter bliss with her in his arms. Vera quickly stepped away, dried her eyes, and
    
    jogged off to tell her father. Michael watched her and sighed.
    
    Vera was jogging around the courtyard. Flowers and tree limbs brushed her face
    
    as she jogged past. She had a lot of energy to spare. Her mind wandered back to
    
    the day before. Vera shuddered at the memory of Zensho's body pressed against
    
    hers. She wondered for the millionth time why she rushed into Michael's arms,
    
    and what would have happened if he hadn't stepped in. Michael's words rang in
    
    her ears. Vera thought about Michael himself. After spending time with him, Vera
    
    had discovered that his hair wasn't blonde, it was sable. His eyes were blue
    
    like the ocean Vera had never seen, but had been told about. He was tall and
    
    athletic. He had a strange habit of climbing trees and just sitting there.
    
    Michael himself suddenly strode confidently into the courtyard. Vera stopped
    
    jogging and watched him go straight to his favorite tree. Michael cast Vera a
    
    single sidelong glance and then turned his attention to the tree. Vera figured
    
    that he thought she was mad at him, since she hadn't spoken to him since the
    
    incident. In reality, Vera was embarrassed by her behavior. Vera sighed. She
    
    knew she cared about Michael, but that was not the area where she was
    
    particularly sure about herself. Vera returned to her jogging.
    
    " Are you speaking to me?" Michael asked. So he did think that Vera was mad at
    
    him.
    
    " Yes. I just haven't exactly had the chance to say anything." Vera replied.
    
    That wasn't too far from the truth. Vera hadn't seen Michael at all last night.
    
    What Michael didn't know was that Vera had purposely avoided him.
    
    " Oh. Then I'll tell you something." Michael said, keeping his gaze carefully
    
    turned away from Vera, even though she knew he was watching her. Vera stopped
    
    jogging.
    
    " What?" she asked.
    
    " I chose my duty. You know, to be a knight." Michael said calmly.
    
    " That's great! What did you pick?" Vera had been very interested in Michael's
    
    progress.
    
    " You'll find out." Michael responded, jumping from his tree.
    
    " When?" Vera asked, suddenly anxious and suspicious at the same time.
    
    " Tomorrow." Michael said in voice that clearly stated that this conversation
    
    was over. He walked away from Vera, back into the castle. Vera raised her eyes
    
    to see a setting sun. The light spilled over her, casting a twisted, deformed
    
    shadow behind her. Vera remembered the dream that had troubled her for a week
    
    now. The tarot card reading she had given Michael months ago came to her mind.
    
    So the challenge was learning to use a sword, the vow was his duty.
    
    Michael hadn't really gone into the castle. He stood in the shadows of the
    
    doorway, watching Vera. He wondered what she would do when she learned what his
    
    chosen duty was. She would probably be mad at him. A hand suddenly grasped
    
    Michael's shoulder.
    
    " You know, you probably picked the hardest possible duty. She can be pretty
    
    unruly." Van said. Michael sighed.
    
    " I know. But I was there. I saw what Zensho tried to do. I also heard that
    
    letter from the rebels. If there's war, she'll want to fight." Michael was sure
    
    of his choice.
    
    " Yes, she will. I think I'm at fault." Van said sadly. Michael was shocked.
    
    " You can't possibly blame yourself for the way she turned out." Michael said.
    
    " No, not that," Van said with a frown. " I think she feels like she has to
    
    prove she's as good as me and Hitomi. I pushed her too hard when she was young,
    
    I think. She has her mother independence, and my reckless love of danger.
    
    Together, it's a dangerous mix." Van said. He turned away. Just before he left,
    
    he called back to Michael.
    
    " Be careful, Michael. Hitomi is having visions, and I can tell that dreams are
    
    haunting Vera. Something big is going to happen." Van said. Michael made no
    
    response. He had never seen for himself the power of Hitomi's visions and Vera's
    
    dreams. The whole country and a couple others ran on whether or not Hitomi or
    
    Vera had had a bad vision or dream. Michael turned back to Vera, who was alone
    
    with her thoughts and the coming twilight. She was so beautiful, and she didn't
    
    even try to be pretty. It was natural. Michael's heart hurt watching her. She
    
    dressed like a boy, or actually like her father. Tan pants and a dark blue
    
    shirt. Her black hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail that fell just below
    
    her shoulders. Long bangs fell attractively over her eyes, which were green like
    
    emeralds. Michael's own sable hair was sleek and fell down level with his chin.
    
    He watched Vera with a heavy heart, wondering how he could care so much for a
    
    girl who was so very different.
    
    Vera watched the crowd and wondered nervously what Michael's duty was. Michael
    
    stood not far away. Vera could feel his eyes on her. The dream, which had come
    
    to her last night in a fury, floated unconsciously to her mind. One scene in
    
    particular tortured her. Vera wanted to scream. Her mother leaned close to her.
    
    " Dreams?" Hitomi asked. Vera nodded silently.
    
    " I can't get them out of my head. Something big is coming." Vera whispered.
    
    Hitomi nodded.
    
    " I had a horrible vision. The cards tell of disaster and nothing else." Hitomi
    
    said. Vera swallowed her cold fear. She watched her father proceed with the
    
    necessary ceremonies. Michael looked proud, but worried. She had known Michael
    
    long enough to know he wasn't the type to get stage fright. She wondered what
    
    was on Michael's mind. Michael stepped forward to speak to the crowd, as was
    
    required of him.
    
    " People of Fanelia," Michael began. He had obviously rehearsed. " As my chosen
    
    duty, I have decided to become the personal guardian of Princess Vera." The
    
    crowd cheered at Michael's words, and Vera thought she would faint. " I promise
    
    to you, the people, to the King and Queen, and to Princess Vera, that I will not
    
    fail." Michael drew his sword and turned to Vera. He pressed his own sword to
    
    his neck and looked at Vera meaningfully. " I swear to you, Lady Vera, I will
    
    sacrifice my honor, my reputation, my chances at knighthood, and even my life to
    
    protect you." Vera breathed in slowly. Michael was no longer reciting a speech
    
    Allen had helped him prepare. He really meant every word he was saying. Vera
    
    wanted to scream at him, to tell him to go back where he came from. She didn't
    
    want him to do this, he would only be hurt. The dream would come true if Vera
    
    didn't stop him. Vera snapped herself away from her thoughts and nodded numbly
    
    to Michael, to show that she understood and accepted his decision. But she
    
    didn't accept it. Don't you understand, Vera asked him silently, you will only
    
    be hurt, I only want to stop this dream from coming true and save your life,
    
    because I care. Vera felt the cold feeling of darkness wash over her. Her knees
    
    buckled and Vera fell to the ground. Just before she blacked out, Michael's
    
    concerned face floated to her line of vision. I just want to save you, she
    
    thought, and then the darkness took her.
    
    Vera opened her eyes. Darkness was all around her.
    
    " Not this again!" Vera screamed. Her voice fell dead in the air. There was no
    
    floor under her feet, no walls, just blackness. Vera began to cry, knowing what
    
    awaited her. Fire ripped through the darkness, literally tearing it. Broken
    
    guymelifs came to Vera's eyes. The castle that she had lived in all her life lay
    
    in ruins. Two guymelifs, battered from battle, stood side by side. One of them
    
    was Double Edge, Vera's guymelif. The other was a strange one, with metal wings
    
    coming from the shoulders. A voice floated to Vera's ears.
    
    " I can't see them anymore." The voice was Vera's.
    
    " Give it up, Vera. We lost." Michael's voice drifted from the winged guymelif.
    
    " We're alive, aren't we?" Vera said sarcastically.
    
    " Barely. And we're the only ones." Michael said seriously. The real Vera was
    
    praying that someone would wake her up so that she wouldn't have to see the
    
    rest.
    
    " Besides, we don't know if the enemy is really gone." Michael pointed out.
    
    Suddenly, a metal claw shot out of thin air, straight at the dream Vera. Michael
    
    reacted by throwing himself in front of her, taking the hit right through the
    
    chest.
    
    " Michael!" the dream Vera screamed. The real Vera screamed also, in rage and
    
    sorrow and utter helplessness. The fire suddenly rose, blocking the two
    
    guymelifs and their owners inside them from sight. The fire rose and swallowed
    
    the real Vera in its blistering heat. Pain tore through Vera's body. The fire
    
    slowly drew back, and Vera felt seperated from her body. This part of the dream
    
    was new. Vera looked and saw her own battered, beaten and burned body clutching
    
    the still, dead body of Michael. Tears rolled down Vera's body's face. Vera
    
    herself screamed.
    
    " Let me go!" Vera screamed. But there was no one to release her from her
    
    prison, just miles of darkness and an echo.
    
    Michael watched helplessly as Vera jerked in her sleep. He felt so guilty.
    
    Hitomi and Van had tried to comfort him by saying that this had all happened
    
    before and Vera would be fine. Millerna checked Vera's pulse.
    
    " Still the same. Don't worry, Michael. Vera's fainted from visions before. You
    
    know, if she wasn't so strong, I think all her dreams and visions would have
    
    broken her long before now." Millerna was trying to comfort him, but Michael
    
    just wanted Vera to wake up. Michael had nearly died of fright when Vera had
    
    just collapsed. Vera cried out in her sleep.
    
    " Let me… Go." Vera moaned softly. Michael took her hand and held it. He looked
    
    behind him to see if Millerna was gone. When he saw that she was, Michael
    
    reached out and pushed a lock of hair out of Vera's face. His fingers gently
    
    caressed her face. Vera's brow scrunched up with some kind of effort from the
    
    dream she was having. Michael used a cloth Millerna had left to wipe the
    
    perspiration from her forehead. While he was doing this, Vera woke up. Michael
    
    looked at her in shock. Vera sat up quickly.
    
    " Vera, are you-" Michael started. Before he could finish, Vera broke down into
    
    wild sobs.
    
    " Michael, it was horrible! It was burning, it all burned! Even I burned!" Vera
    
    cried wildly. Michael put his arms around her and held her close.
    
    " Ssshhh. It's okay, Vera. I'm here. I'm here. It's all over. It was just a
    
    dream." Michael knew that the others had heard Vera's cries and had come in, but
    
    he no longer cared. Vera buried her face in his chest and cried. Michael stroked
    
    her hair and continued to make soothing noises he remembered his mother using
    
    when he had a nightmare.
    
    " It wasn't just a dream, Michael. It was a vision. It will come true, if I
    
    don't stop it." Vera looked up from Michael's arms at her family. " It will
    
    burn. Fanelia will burn. Austuria will burn. Fried will burn. All Gaea will
    
    burn. I saw it." Vera said. She shuddered in Michael's arms. " It hurt so much.
    
    It burned. I was helpless. All I could do was watch my own body burn and feel
    
    the pain." Vera sobbed again and hid her face in Michael's chest. Hitomi stepped
    
    forward and rubbed her daughter's back.
    
    " She's right. I saw it in my visions too. A letter will come. It will be from
    
    the rebels on the northern border. They will declare war. The Death card reigns
    
    in all my tarot readings. We must arm ourselves." Michael listened in disbelief.
    
    He had never heard anyone he thought to be sane predict the future with such
    
    perfect faith. He had also never seen anyone take such things seriously. Van and
    
    Allen snapped into action.
    
    " I want the guard doubled." Van proclaimed to two sentinels standing by the
    
    door. They nodded.
    
    " I want the army from Austuria and Fanelia to report here tomorrow, or as soon
    
    as possible." Allen snapped.
    
    " Send a letter to Fried. The Prince there knows and respects the power of their
    
    visions." Van said in a rough voice. Michael could tell he was mentally sizing
    
    up his foe.
    
    " And send letters to all our other allies. Tell them of the predicament." Allen
    
    added.
    
    " And we want to know the second that letter from the rebels arrives," Van
    
    closed the series of orders. The sentinels rushed off to see that the orders
    
    were carried out. The two men left the room to plan and prepare. Millerna rushed
    
    off to fill out orders for more medicine than was really needed, but she
    
    believed it was better to be safe than sorry. Hitomi sighed.
    
    " I'll leave you two alone, if you want." She offered. Michael tried to bluff
    
    his way out of looking like he wanted this, but Hitomi just laughed.
    
    " I can see right through that yarn. Besides, I don't think Vera minds." Hitomi
    
    nodded to Vera who was silently sitting in Michael's grasp. Quite suddenly, Vera
    
    pulled away from Michael and lay down on her bed. She was instantly asleep.
    
    Michael sighed.
    
    " You go, Hitomi. I'll stay with her." He offered. Hitomi shook her head.
    
    " No, you've been with since she fainted. I'll give you a break." She said. The
    
    way she said it, there was no way Michael could argue. Michael suddenly felt
    
    boxed in, like he was trapped in the room. He nodded to Hitomi and ran from the
    
    room. Michael burst into the courtyard. What Vera and Hitomi had predicted had
    
    upset something deep inside Michael. He slowly realized that he had grown very
    
    attached to this world and its inhabitants. Especially the royals. Vera in
    
    particular. Michael froze in his place. He wondered why he wanted so much to
    
    protect Vera, why he had vowed to do so. Michael looked up at the Mystic Moon
    
    and accepted that now he would probably never see his parents again. It wasn't
    
    that hard to accept. Michael suddenly realized why he was doing this. He was in
    
    love with Vera.
    
    Vera was not really asleep, and Hitomi seemed to know.
    
    " You can stop pretending to be asleep, Michael's gone." Hitomi said gently.
    
    Vera started to cry.
    
    " What's the matter with me, Mom? Why'd I do that?" Vera sobbed quietly.
    
    " Do what?" Hitomi asked, confused.
    
    " Why'd I let him hold me like that? It's the second time! I keep flying to his
    
    arms, and I don't know why." Vera continued to sob. Hitomi waited patiently
    
    until the sobs quit.
    
    " Vera, I think Michael feels very deeply for you. Do you care about him?"
    
    Hitomi asked.
    
    " No. Yes. I don't know, Mom! I'm so confused." Vera sighed shakily. " Why did
    
    he promise to protect me? He'll get hurt. I don't want him to get hurt. I want
    
    to protect Fanelia from that awful vision. And I don't want anyone I love to be
    
    hurt." Hitomi smiled gently at her daughter. Vera was stating things she knew so
    
    she could try and put it together.
    
    " Does Michael fall under that category?" she asked. Vera shrugged.
    
    " I don't know. I don't want to love anyone that way! Not yet. I just want… Oh,
    
    I don't know." Vera lay down again. She couldn't hide how she truly felt from
    
    Hitomi and she knew it. Vera really did care about Michael, but she felt that
    
    that kind of care was like totally depending on someone, and Vera didn't like to
    
    be dependent. Vera climbed out of bed.
    
    " I'm going to go run around one of the courtyards. I think better while I'm
    
    running." Vera sauntered out of the room. She chose the courtyard carefully,
    
    making sure she was alone. She checked every tree, looked in every corner. When
    
    she was positive Michael wasn't there, she began to run. She ran as fast and as
    
    long as her body could withstand, until she dropped from exhaustion. Vera panted
    
    and drank greedily from a stream. Then she got up and ran again. Vera had always
    
    loved speed and loved to push body to the most extreme limits, pulling for more
    
    speed, more time, more anything. What Vera was trying to do was pretend that she
    
    was flying on the wings hidden in her shoulders. Her beautiful white wings. She
    
    wasn't good at controlling them and they often came out when she was running.
    
    Vera wondered what Michael would say if he saw them. He would probably think she
    
    was a monster, like everyone else had thought of her family. Few people who knew
    
    of the Atlantis blood in her veins had accepted it. And having a girl from the
    
    Mystic Moon for a mother did not help. Vera collapsed again. Sweat poured down
    
    her face. Vera looked up at the high castle wall and stood. Vera obliged to the
    
    urge to let her wings rip out. Her blue shirt ripped. Vera didn't care. She
    
    stretched the tender muscles, pushing the wings out to their full length, a span
    
    of about ten feet. Vera gently pumped her wings up and down. A sudden memory
    
    rose in her mind from long ago…
    
    A little girl, about four years old, in a blue shirt and shorts stood amid the
    
    greenery of a courtyard, holding her hands above her head.
    
    " Again, Daddy, again!" she cried. Van Fanel smiled down at the girl.
    
    " Okay, Vera. But hold on tight, or you'll fall and hurt your leg worse." Van
    
    cautioned. Vera nodded. Her leg was bandaged. Van brought his left wing down
    
    within Vera's grasp. The tiny girl clutched the wing and giggled as Van lifted
    
    her into the air.
    
    " Higher, Daddy!" Vera cried happily. Van continued to lift her until she was as
    
    high as he could reach. Vera laughed.
    
    " I'm up so high! Daddy, look at me! I'm flying!" Vera laughed some more. She
    
    was about ten feet off the ground. Suddenly, miniature wings shot out of Vera's
    
    shoulders. Van's eyes widened but Vera didn't notice anything happened. Vera
    
    began to loose her grip.
    
    " Daddy!" Vera cried as she began to fall. Van expertly caught her in his right
    
    wing. Vera laughed amid the soft, white feathers, and then noticed her own
    
    wings.
    
    " Oh, Daddy, look! I have wings just like you!" Vera said happily. Van let her
    
    slide to the ground.
    
    " Vera, you always had wings." Van told her.
    
    " I did?" Vera asked, astonished. " Where were they? How come I didn't see
    
    them?"
    
    " They were hidden. The wings hide in your shoulders, like this." Van showed her
    
    by hiding his own wings. Vera nodded.
    
    " Now you do it. Just concentrate, and picture it happening." Van told her
    
    softly. Slowly, her wings returned to her shoulders. After they were hidden,
    
    Vera looked up at her father.
    
    " Why do they hide?" she asked. Van frowned.
    
    " We have to hide them, because people don't understand. They'll say bad things
    
    if they see your wings." Van said slowly. Vera looked puzzled.
    
    " Why don't people understand, Daddy?" Vera asked.
    
    " People are afraid of what they don't understand. They don't see that having
    
    wings is just fine, it's the way you're born. So they're afraid of people that
    
    have wings." Van finished. Vera seemed to understand.
    
    " So we have to hide our wings." Vera sighed. " That's sad. They're so pretty."
    
    " I know. Never let anyone see your wings. Always hide them." Van warned.
    
    " Yes, Daddy."
    
    Vera looked up at the sky as her wings went back to their hiding place. Her
    
    green eyes were filled with longing. For what, Vera didn't know.
    
    Van looked at the piece of paper in his hands. He turned his gaze to his wife
    
    and sighed.
    
    " Right as always." He said sadly. No one in the room wanted Hitomi to be right
    
    this time, even Hitomi had been praying she was wrong. Van looked around him.
    
    " They declared war on us. Just as Hitomi and Vera predicted." Van informed
    
    them. Allen's eyes saddened.
    
    " War. All Gaea's been in peace since the war with Ziboch. And these guys think
    
    they have the right to come along and break that up?" Allen sighed. Van knew he
    
    was remembering, the same as everyone else.
    
    " Fanelia wasn't as strong then as it is now. And now Fanelia is a member of the
    
    Alliance. One of the three most powerful nations in the Alliance." Hitomi
    
    reminded everyone. No one was pleased.
    
    " War." Van whispered. He remembered the battles, the horror, the pain. He also
    
    remembered the fire.
    
    " There will be fire." Van said. " Vera won't be able to take it." Everyone
    
    nodded. Vera was afraid of fire. She had every reason to be.
    
    It had been a cool autumn day. Vera was five years old, and her father had taken
    
    her out to the market. They were going to meet Hitomi and go on a picnic in the
    
    woods. After they found Hitomi, Van and his wife walked through the woods with
    
    their daughter in between them. Sometimes they lifted her up, making her giggle.
    
    The family settled down in a clearing to eat. Vera ran into the woods to play.
    
    Her proud parents watched her. Hitomi lay down for a nap and Van sparred a few
    
    yards away. The scent of burning wood drifted to Van's nostrils. Van ignored it
    
    since a lot of people burned wood around that area. Hitomi suddenly awoke.
    
    " Vera's in trouble." Hitomi said calmly. Van didn't reply. Instead, he ran into
    
    the woods to find his daughter. Fire suddenly surrounded him.
    
    " Daddy! Mommy!" A child's cry went up from nearby. Van ran toward it and found
    
    his daughter racing with all her strength to avoid the flames.
    
    " Daddy, it burns!" Vera sobbed, flinging herself into her father's arms. Van
    
    carried Vera and Hitomi used her pendant to find the right direction and the
    
    burnt and battered family found their way back from burning abyss.
    
    Van opened his eyes. The flashback was so detailed, it might have been
    
    yesterday. Vera had limped away with horrible burns on her shoulders and left
    
    leg. She still wore the scars. Van stared sadly at his friends and wife. Fire
    
    was Vera's greatest fear.
    
    Michael wondered what Vera was up to. He hadn't seen her since yesterday, after
    
    she had awoken from her dream. He knew she was probably avoiding him. Michael
    
    also knew that after tonight, he would never stray far from Vera's side. He had
    
    vowed to protect her, and he would do just that. The news of war had rocked
    
    Fanelia. The army was training furiously. The navy in Austuria was outfitting
    
    its ships. The Crusade and its sister, the Crusade II, were being repaired and
    
    oufitted for battle. The guymelifs were being freshened up. Van had ordered that
    
    Michael have his own guymelif built. The giant structure was nearly finished.
    
    Michael had asked to put a custom design on it and had been granted permission
    
    to do so. Now angel wings rose from the guymelif's shoulders. Michael had
    
    decided to name it Arch Angel, after its purpose, to protect Vera as an arch
    
    angel protects heaven, and after the meaning of his own name. The wings could be
    
    used as a weapon when the guymelif spun around quickly. Michael sat in his tree.
    
    Normally he was content to sit and think, but now he longed for Vera to be near.
    
    A dark figure looked out a window.
    
    " If we take the capital of Austuria," a male voice said. " Then we disable the
    
    entire Alliance. I wonder if the Alliance will comply when I ask for my pay. Of
    
    course they will, even though they will do their best to protect her. I will
    
    have Princess Vera for my own." Prince Zensho stepped from the shadows and gazed
    
    out the window at the Austurian capital.
    
    " First, I must kill Allen Schezar and Princess Millerna. After that, seizing
    
    the capital will be easy. I will have control of Gaea's strongest navy and two
    
    strongest armies. Then, Fanelia will be down to its guymelif force and national
    
    guard. The nation will be on its knees. Then I will make my demand." Zensho
    
    smiled. The memory of the blonde boy who had defended Vera was in his mind.
    
    " I will also kill that boy. So Vera will be at my mercy. Hah! Bye-bye, pretty
    
    boy!" Zensho laughed madly.
    
    Vera stepped on the Crusade II. Michael was close at her heels. She felt his
    
    presence near her.
    
    " So, Michael, Vera, Merle, and Zam, you kids have the Crusade II. The rest of
    
    us, including the King and Queen, will be on the Crusade. You guys have a crew
    
    of thirty under your command. Vera, you know how to run this floating tub."
    
    Gatis, Allen's second in command, told them. Michael stepped up to Vera's side.
    
    " So we just play follow the leader?" he asked. Gatis nodded.
    
    " Yeah, that's it. Just follow us. The boss will board this ship if we have to
    
    go into battle. Your guymelifs and enough for the crew are in the docking bay."
    
    Gatis turned to leave. The boss was Allen. Gatis exited the ship and Vera lead
    
    her little troop of four to the control bridge. Michael stumbled a little behind
    
    her. The Crusade II was taking off. Vera stormed into the control room and
    
    peered out the window to see the Crusade was already in the air and leaving the
    
    bay. The Crusade II was following suit. Vera was not worried. Like anyone with
    
    Atlantis blood, she was not afraid of heights. Also, she had lived her first
    
    year on the Crusade and learned to walk on it, so her air legs came ready for
    
    use. Michael probably did not have these advantages. Sure enough, as the Crusade
    
    II accelerated, Michael fell on his butt.
    
    " Ow!" he cried. Vera laughed.
    
    " You'll get your air legs in a little while." She called to them. She looked
    
    over to see Merle sitting calmly and Zam crouched down with his ears laid back,
    
    claws outstretched, and eyes wide. Vera laughed with Merle at the boys, and
    
    watched the ground grow farther away. Vera turned her gaze to the Crusade,
    
    flying about a third of a mile ahead of them.
    
    " Go as fast as them and stay directly in line with the Crusade. Don't stray."
    
    Vera ordered the crew. Vera wasn't worried at all. This was just a routine run
    
    to Austuria and back. So why did she have a bad feeling about the whole thing.
    
    Michael sat at a window and watched the Crusade ahead of them. It was just
    
    flying, the same as they were. Overall, Michael found the whole thing dull. A
    
    routine run. Van's voice telling him the conditions of their predicament rang in
    
    Michael's head. Just a routine run, Van had said. Something they had to do to
    
    check up on the navy and the armies and maybe they would stop in Fried and
    
    request assistance. Fried would be more than happy to oblige, since the royalty
    
    there had been saved by Fanelia and Austuria numerous times. Vera seemed
    
    nervous, so Michael was worried. Michael looked up and saw that Vera was nowhere
    
    in sight. Michael stood to find her. After quite a few stumbles, Michael found
    
    her sparring in the dock, just beneath Double Edge.
    
    " What?" Vera asked without emotion.
    
    " I'm supposed to be at your side all the time." Michael said. He tried giving
    
    her a grin but Vera either didn't see it or was ignoring him. She lunged at an
    
    invisible foe and stood alone. Michael wanted very much to say something to her,
    
    but all he could do was ask something very far from what he wanted.
    
    " Want a sparring partner?" He asked. Vera nodded. Michael drew his sword and
    
    walked up to her, starting about five yards away. Their battle raged. Michael
    
    decided not to pull his mimic trick on her this time. Vera looked so focused
    
    that it probably wouldn't have worked. The two rushed and met half way.
    
    Michael's face was inches from Vera's. The two teens froze and looked into each
    
    others eyes. Michael felt a connection between them. He felt his body inch a
    
    little bit closer to Vera. Just then, the Crusade II jarred and Michael fell to
    
    his knees.
    
    " What was that?" he cried. Vera looked up, broken from her sparring trance.
    
    " I don't know. Let's go!" Vera shouted. Michael climbed to his feet and
    
    followed Vera to the control room. The pilot turned at their arrival.
    
    " We're being attacked!" he cried. Michael gasped and Vera moaned.
    
    " Where's the Crusade? Allen's supposed to board if something went wrong." Vera
    
    asked.
    
    " The enemy has driven the Crusade out of sight. Our only hope is to turn tail
    
    and run." One of the crew members stated.
    
    " Run? I don't think so. We fight!" Vera cried. Michael knew Vera was making a
    
    mistake.
    
    " Vera, we're not equipped for battle. Only the Crusade's got enough to fight.
    
    He's right, we'd better turn and run." Michael advised. Vera considered and then
    
    nodded.
    
    " Okay. All power to the engines, I want all the speed this tub can muster.
    
    Let's get back to the castle and set up defense if they follow." Vera ordered.
    
    The Crusade II swung hard. Another bone-jarring crash slammed the ship.
    
    " Ahh! We're hit!" cried Merle. Zam grabbed her and the two of them stood
    
    together. Michael stepped in front of Vera protectively. Darkness enveloped the
    
    ship.
    
    " We've lost one engine, and we're losing fuel fast. We don't have enough in the
    
    other tanks to get back to Fanelia." A man at the control console stated.
    
    " Even if we did have enough fuel, we couldn't find our way. The navigational
    
    system is down." The navigator cried. Michael summed this up quickly.
    
    " So in other words, we'd better land somewhere before something really bad
    
    happens!" he yelled.
    
    " You heard him! Find a place to land before this crate goes down!" Vera yelled.
    
    The pilot pulled toward a large clearing in the forest below them.
    
    " We're losing altitude too fast! Slow us down!" a crew member yelled to another
    
    at the helm.
    
    " I can't! Not enough fuel left!" the other replied. Merle screamed.
    
    " We're gonna crash! Everyone grab onto something!" Vera screamed. Michael
    
    grabbed Vera's arm and pulled her close to him. He grabbed a handle in the wall
    
    and used his body to protect Vera. Screams surrounded him. Blackness suddenly
    
    grabbed Michael and he passed out.
    
    Vera opened her eyes. She was laying on something cold and hard. Her head hurt
    
    crazily and there was something very heavy on top of her. Vera realized it was
    
    Michael, and he was unconscious. Vera shook him.
    
    " Hey, get off me, ya big lug." Vera yelled. Michael woke up and pushed himself
    
    up. Then he leaned down and pulled Vera up.
    
    " A lug, huh?" he said sarcastically. The crew began to wake up, and everyone
    
    reported no serious injuries. Zam woke and said he had Merle with him and she
    
    was still asleep. Just then, Merle woke up.
    
    " Ow! Oh, it hurts! My leg hurts! Oh, it really hurts!" Merle screamed. Her tail
    
    puffed out to twice its normal size. Vera rushed over. One glance, even in the
    
    dim light, told her that Merle's leg was broken. Two thin metal bars and a
    
    ripped shirt provided a splint. A first aid kit held some pain-killer that tided
    
    Merle over enough to get her to stop whining. Vera loved Merle like a sister,
    
    but that cat-girl could complain. Vera was ready to tranquilize Merle just to
    
    shut her up. After Merle was taken care of, Vera suggested that she and Michael
    
    take their guymelifs and a few crew members to scout the area. Michael neither
    
    agreed nor disagreed, and everyone else thought it was a good idea, so Vera
    
    started up Double Edge and Michael, who had operated a guymelif but never the
    
    brand-new Arch Angel, took a little longer than everybody else. The group
    
    started off, five guymelifs moving as silently as possible. Zam rode on Arch
    
    Angel's shoulder. He had been brought because of his knowledge of foreign lands.
    
    " Well, we're just inside the border of Austuria. There should be a lake to the
    
    east of us where we can camp. If we keep going east, there's a village where we
    
    can get supplies, fuel, and repairments for the Crusade II. We might even be
    
    able to find the others." Zam said. Vera considered this.
    
    " We should keep going. Someone will go back and tell the crew and Merle where
    
    we're going. The rest of us will go to the village and come back in a day or two
    
    with supplies." Vera verbally planned.
    
    " Wait, how will we pay for the stuff?" Michael asked. Everything was silent.
    
    " You're right. We're broke. I guess we should all turn back and see what we can
    
    find on the ship." The troop of guymelifs turned and walked back to the ship.
    
    Once inside, Merle greeted them with the most energetic hugs and kisses possible
    
    for a cat-girl with a broken leg. The whole crew turned the ship upside down,
    
    but Zam sadly proclaimed that nothing they found that they could spare was worth
    
    enough. Michael offered his spare sword and Vera happily offered some dresses
    
    her mother had made her bring. But nothing was worth enough.
    
    " No matter what we do, we're broke. We might afford some food, but then we'll
    
    really be broke. We're better off if we hold onto all this in case of an
    
    emergency." Zam said sadly.
    
    " Are you sure?" the pilot asked.
    
    " I'm sure. I've traded in this town before. They hardly pay at all for
    
    high-quality stuff." Zam frowned.
    
    " Well, we should stay here then," Michael said, glancing around the dark ship.
    
    " We've got protection and weapons, so we're not defenseless. We've got some
    
    food, and we can go hunt and gather fruit in the forest, so we won't starve. And
    
    there's a good chance that the people on the Crusade saw us go down, so they'll
    
    come looking for us. We'd better be here when they come, or they'll be worried."
    
    Michael looked at Vera, who nodded.
    
    " Okay, make yourself at home, guys. Michael, Zam, help me get Merle to her
    
    room." Vera said. The three of them took turns carrying Merle to her room. After
    
    leaving Zam with her, Michael followed Vera to the docking bay. All the things
    
    that had been gathered to sell were piled there. Vera yanked out her sword and
    
    turned to Michael.
    
    " Shall we continue?" she asked. Michael didn't respond but drew his sword. The
    
    sparring continued for nearly an hour. It consisted of blind rushes and long
    
    pauses. After they quit, Vera sat down abruptly and watched Michael while he
    
    sheathed his sword. Michael gasped and stared at Vera from the corner of his
    
    eye. Michael wondered what thoughts went on behind those green eyes.
    
    Vera watched Michael. No one had won the sparring match. Vera usually cared and
    
    asked for a rematch when there was a tie, but this time she was content to watch
    
    Michael. He breathed hard and watched her from the corner of his eye. Vera
    
    remembered right before the Crusade II had gone down, the strange minute when
    
    she had felt connected to Michael. Vera was extremely confused. Michael turned
    
    and looked her in the eye. Vera, still unsure of her feelings toward Michael,
    
    turned away. She heard him sigh and leave the docking bay. When she was sure he
    
    was gone, Vera buried her face in her arms. She lifted her gaze to Double Edge,
    
    towering lifelessly above her. Vera remembered the stories she had been told
    
    about Escaflowne, the great guymelif her father had used in many victorious
    
    battles. He had Escaflowne with him, on the Crusade. Like everyone else in her
    
    immediate family, Vera knew her father could change Escaflowne into a dragon.
    
    She hoped he would do this and come looking for the Crusade II. Vera, unlike
    
    Michael, knew this was really their only chance at being rescued. Vera stood and
    
    made her way to her quarters. Once safely inside, she pulled out the tarot cards
    
    her mother had let her bring. Hitomi herself had the pendant, so Vera wasn't
    
    worried about her parents not knowing where they were. Vera gave herself a
    
    reading, but what she found did not cheer her up. The Death card reigned, and
    
    all she could see was misfortune and pain. In frustration, Vera gathered up the
    
    cards and threw them against her door. She stared at the scattered cards in
    
    anger.
    
    " Why can't you let my family live in peace?" she asked the cards angrily. She
    
    looked down and saw the Death card at her feet. Resisting the urge to stomp on
    
    it, Vera knelt and picked it up. She stared angrily at the blackness on the
    
    card. Vera tossed the card to the pile of scattered ones and turned away. Vera
    
    looked out the window, praying for a sign of hope in the darkening skies. She
    
    saw none. Looking at the reflection, Vera saw a girl with pitch black hair,
    
    startling green eyes, and a tan complexion staring back. She turned away and
    
    flopped down on her bed.
    
    " I'm so confused." She murmured to herself. Someone knocked on the door.
    
    " Vera, who you talking to?" Michael's voice drifted through.
    
    " The stupid cards." Vera replied angrily.
    
    " Oh. You decent?" Michael asked.
    
    " In body, but not in mind." Vera said sullenly. Michael opened the door and
    
    came in. He looked at the cards on the floor.
    
    " I see someone had a tantrum." Michael said, nodding to the cards.
    
    " Shut up." Vera growled. Michael gathered the cards up and made a neat deck.
    
    " What would it mean if I draw just one?" Michael asked.
    
    " All depends what you want an answer to." Vera said without emotion. She didn't
    
    trust her voice. Michael shrugged. He drew a single card and held it up for Vera
    
    to see.
    
    " The Moon card. You have love and unity after a great trial." Vera told him.
    
    Love and unity. That sounded nice to Vera. Michael looked as if he got the
    
    answer he wanted. He turned toward the window.
    
    " Looks like it's going to be a starry night, complete with pretty moons." He
    
    commented. Vera nodded. She remembered the night he had stood close to her and
    
    watched the moons and the stars with her. He had told her about his world, where
    
    only one moon hung in the night sky, where guymelifs didn't exist but carts that
    
    didn't need animals to draw them did. Vera imagined her mother growing up in
    
    such a world, oblivious for so long that another world existed. The thought made
    
    Vera feel sad. Michael turned to Vera.
    
    " Remember that reading you gave me four months ago?" Michael asked.
    
    " Yeah." Vera said cautiously.
    
    " What do you think? The challenge was learning to use a sword, the vow was my
    
    duty. Do think the war is the danger?" Michael said. Vera mentally put together
    
    Michael's reading from a minute ago with the one from four months ago.
    
    " The war is and isn't the danger," she said distantly. " The war is only part
    
    of the danger. I think keeping the vow is the other part. And with the great
    
    success, you will get the love and unity." Vera breathed deeply and turned away
    
    from Michael. She didn't want him to see the weakness in her tear-filled eyes.
    
    Vera stared out the window at the rising moons. Go back, she pleaded silently,
    
    go back so I won't have to hurt you. You don't know what a danger I am to you. I
    
    just want to save you. I'm not sure, but I think I love you. Vera blinked back
    
    the tears. Michael saw in her reflection in the window.
    
    " What's the matter?" he asked. He came forward and put his hands on Vera's
    
    shoulders. " Was it something I said?"
    
    " No." Vera answered blankly. She searched for a valid reason for her to seem
    
    upset. " I'm just… worried about my parents." No, it was something you promised
    
    to do, Vera silently added. Suddenly, Vera was overcome by the urge to eat.
    
    " I'm hungry. You wanna go grab some dinner?" Vera suggested. Michael seemed a
    
    little surprised.
    
    " Uh, sure." He said. Vera jogged to the galley with Michael close behind. They
    
    found Merle sitting in a chair eating some kind of meat.
    
    " Hi, guys." Merle offered. Vera waved and dug into some food cartons. She
    
    wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she wanted something sweet. Vera was
    
    normally a very healthy eater, but right now she wanted lots of junk food.
    
    " What are you looking for?" Merle asked.
    
    " I don't know. All of the sudden, I have this urge for sweets. Lots of sweets."
    
    Vera called, now submerging the whole top half of her body in the carton, with
    
    the bottom half dangling out. Merle laughed.
    
    " Michael, could you leave us alone for a minute? I think I need to have a girl
    
    talk with Vera." Merle said. Michael grabbed an apple and began to walk out.
    
    Just then, Vera fell into the carton.
    
    " Ow!" she cried. Merle laughed and Michael shook his head and walked out the
    
    door. After he left, Merle watched Vera climb out of the carton, arms full of
    
    sweets.
    
    " Uh-huh. I knew it." Merle said as Vera began to shove the food into her mouth.
    
    Vera looked up and swallowed.
    
    " Knew what?" Vera asked.
    
    " You're depressed aren't you?" Merle said knowingly. Vera nodded. " That's why
    
    you want to eat junk food. It's a female instinct. Whenever we get depressed, we
    
    eat whatever we can find to get our minds off whatever's depressing us." Vera
    
    thought this over while digging into a sweet fruit.
    
    " Well, does it go for complete confusion too?" she asked. Merle nodded.
    
    " Yeah. Want to tell me about it? Your mother and I used to sneak into each
    
    other's rooms and eat ourselves sick while we talked about our problems. That
    
    was just before you were born." Merle said. Vera could imagine her mother,
    
    swollen up with Vera inside, sitting on a bed, confessing her sorrows to Merle
    
    while wolfing down all sorts of junk food. Vera sighed.
    
    " I'm messed up, Merle." Vera began. She told Merle everything. After she was
    
    done, Merle sat silently for a minute.
    
    " Do you care about him?" Merle asked quietly. Vera looked sadly at the empty
    
    food packages.
    
    " I think. It's like I said, Merle. I'm so confused, I don't even know what I
    
    really want anymore." Vera said, heading toward another carton to ransack it
    
    from all the junk food it had. Vera felt Merle watch her. Vera came back and
    
    offered Merle some sweets.
    
    " You know, maybe you should give the guy a chance." Merle suggested, her mouth
    
    full of cookies.
    
    " Maybe." Vera admitted. Before Vera could stop her, Merle reached out and
    
    pulled out Vera's ponytail holder. Black hair tumbled over Vera's shoulders.
    
    " Hey, give that back!" Vera cried, lunging at Merle. Merle laughed and held the
    
    ponytail holder out of Vera's reach.
    
    " Merle, I mean it! Give it back!" Vera shouted. The two of them wrestled until
    
    Michael walked in. The girls froze. Michael grinned.
    
    " Watch out for Merle's leg." He told Vera. Michael grabbed another apple and
    
    walked out. The girls continued to fight for the ponytail holder. The end result
    
    was Merle calmly putting it back in Vera's hair, and Vera sitting happily in
    
    front of Merle's chair on the floor. After Vera stood, she bent down and gave
    
    Merle a hug.
    
    " Thanks, Merle. You always know just how to cheer me up." Vera whispered. Her
    
    old playmate smiled and ruffled Vera's hair. Vera walked out the room feeling
    
    much better than when she went in. Vera returned to her quarters to find her
    
    tarot cards laid neatly on her bed, the Moon card on top, face up. Vera walked
    
    over to the cards and saw a note next to the deck. Vera picked up the note and
    
    read it.
    
    Vera,
    
    I know that worrying about your parents wasn't what had you upset. If it was me,
    
    I'm sorry. I thought that we were good enough friends for you to be able to talk
    
    to me. But I'm sure you had a good reason not to. You're one of the only friends
    
    I've got here, so you know I value you dearly. I just want you to know that I'm
    
    here if you need me.
    
    Yours forever,
    
    Michael
    
    Vera smiled to herself and held the paper close to her heart.
    
    " I know you're there for me, Michael," she whispered to herself. " That's why
    
    I'm still here."
    
    Michael stared sullenly out the control room window. It had been ten days since
    
    the Crusade II had gone down. Ten days of sparring, eating, hunting for more
    
    food, sleeping, talking to friends, daydreaming, and watching for some sign that
    
    those on the Crusade were looking for them. Michael sighed. Vera had never
    
    spoken to him about the note he had left in her quarters ten days back. He
    
    wondered if she had liked it or not. She didn't seem to be mad at him. Actually,
    
    she had been unusually pleasant. Merle's leg was healing very quickly, and Zam
    
    explained that cat-people heal quicker than common people. Michael watched the
    
    sky and wished he could work up the courage to tell Vera how he really felt. The
    
    door behind him opened.
    
    " Who is it?" Michael asked.
    
    " Me." Vera's voice answered. Michael resisted the urge to wheel around and face
    
    her.
    
    " What are you looking for?" Vera asked.
    
    " Anything that says we might be able to get out of here." Michael answered.
    
    Vera stepped up next to him. Michael could feel her body near his.
    
    " My parents will come." Vera said confidently. If only I could be that
    
    confident, Michael thought.
    
    Van stared sadly at his wife, hunched over a map with her pendant. Now and again
    
    she slumped in despair, only to get back up again and continue to try and use
    
    her powers and find where the Crusade II had gone down. Allen stepped up beside
    
    him.
    
    " She's been going at it for nine days now. She only stops to eat and sleep.
    
    This isn't healthy for her, Van." Allen said quietly.
    
    " I know. I've tried nine billion times to get her to stop, but she won't do it.
    
    She's got that look in her eye, so I'm not going to try and force her." Van
    
    replied, his voice equally quiet but quivering in sorrow. His daughter was
    
    somewhere out in land that the rebels had captured and his wife was wasting
    
    away, trying to find her. Allen suddenly reached up and wiped some tears from
    
    his eyes.
    
    " This reminds me of when my mother died. I don't know if I'll be able to take
    
    much more of this." Allen murmured. Van nodded. Allen's mother had wasted away,
    
    the way Hitomi was, after his sister, Serena, had disappeared. Serena had been
    
    found, but Allen's mother was gone forever. Van watched Hitomi. Suddenly, she
    
    slumped and began to cry. Van ran forward.
    
    " I'm sorry, Vera! I can't do it! I just can't!" Hitomi sobbed. Van pulled her
    
    to him.
    
    " It's okay, Hitomi. I'll take Escaflowne out and look for them. You get some
    
    rest and then you can try again." Van said soothingly. He realized that Hitomi
    
    had been so exhausted, she had fallen asleep in his arms. Van carried Hitomi to
    
    bed and then left her in Allen and Millerna's care. In the next fifteen minutes,
    
    Van was directing Escaflowne in its dragon form, flying over a vast span of
    
    forest. He spotted the glimmer of metal in the distance and sped toward it. He
    
    was sure it was the Crusade II, but he couldn't see any signs of life coming
    
    from it. Maybe they had abandoned it, or worse, been captured. Van flew closer.
    
    He just prayed he wasn't too late.
    
    Vera stood close to Michael in the control room, wondering what he was thinking
    
    about. She was about to suggest they go to the docking bay and spar, when she
    
    saw something black against the clear blue skies.
    
    " Hey, Michael, do you see that?" Vera asked, squinting at the dot.
    
    " See what?" Michael said. Vera pointed at the dot, which was rapidly growing
    
    larger, and Michael said he saw it.
    
    " What is that?" Michael said. Vera looked hard at the dot, which had now taken
    
    on a shape. Something clicked in Vera's mind.
    
    " Oh, my… Could it be?" Vera ran up and pushed her face against the window. " It
    
    is! It's Dad! He came! He finally came!" Vera was screaming now, running down
    
    the halls and yelling the news to the others, an astonished Michael at her
    
    heals. The whole group of thirty four people, Merle in Zam's arms, ran out of
    
    the Crusade II. Merle knew just how to get Van's attention.
    
    " Watch and learn." She said to everyone. " LOOORRRD VVVAAAANNN!!!" Merle
    
    screamed. The dragon shaped Escaflowne instantly turned toward them and came in
    
    for a landing. Upon landing, the dragon changed into the magnificent Escaflowne
    
    itself, totally stunning Michael, Zam, and the crew, who had never seen such a
    
    guymelif. Van leaped out and received a huge hug from Vera and the waiting
    
    Merle. He couldn't take them back with him, but he could bring the Crusade to
    
    their location. Van left soon after he had come, shouting promises to come back
    
    with the Crusade as fast as he could fly. After he left the crew, Zam, and Merle
    
    went inside. Vera stayed with Michael.
    
    " It's over. We're as good as saved." Michael said.
    
    " Not really. There's still the whole war to fight." Vera shivered. War meant
    
    fire, and to Vera, fire meant fear. Michael's hand accidentally bumped into
    
    Vera's. Vera wasn't sure that it was accidental. Vera stood beside him, watching
    
    the sky she wished she could soar into on the wings hidden in her shoulders.
    
    Maybe, Vera thought, if I ever do fly, I'll take Michael.
    
     

  



End file.
